Coordination of a public affairs effort in government is similar to jazz improvisation — an office has a strategic theme, but tactically, improvisation must also occur. And one lesson from the military is the notion of "commander's intent."

The nine most terrifying words in the English language, Ronald Reagan always liked to say, are: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” I think we can now get that down to seven: “[Agency acronym here] would like to be your friend.”

The buzz suggests that enterprise 2.0 is poised to change how we work and govern. But that is not happening yet. Instead, most experiments with enterprise 2.0 have been limited to the creation of additional communication channels. There is much more the tools could do.